Corrections or additions?
Survival Guide: Electronic Resumes
These stories were published in U.S. 1 Newspaper on January 27, 1999.
All rights reserved.
You know that it takes hard work, perseverance, and
patience to find a job — but these days, a PC and modem don’t
hurt either. According to Business Wire the Internet has approximately
11,000 job listing websites with 1.2 million jobs. With this wealth
of options, looking and applying for a job online can be overwhelming.
Susan Guarneri, a New Jersey-licensed career counselor, will
be giving her advice on “Electronic Resumes” on Monday, February
1, at 7:30 p.m. at a free meeting of the Job Club at the Unitarian
Church, 50 Cherry Hill Road. Call 609-771-1669 or E-mail resumagic@aol.com.
“If you don’t know what you’re looking for, no amount of looking
will help — only career counseling can do that,” Guarneri
says. “And even if you do know where you are going, out of those
11,000 sites you could be glued to your monitor 24 hours per day,
and not get through them all. But there are reliable, tried and true
sites with good openings.” Here are some of Guarneri’s picks for
best job pages:
https://www.jobtrak.com “This site is specificallylinked to 550 college career centers. You need to get the passwordfrom your college career office, which is great because it forcesyou to go in there. This site has 50,000-plus entry-level positionsposted, and employers know to post there.” (Alumni are also welcome.)https://www.careerpath.com This site displays job listingsfrom most major newspapers and is searchable by profession or geographicarea. Over 500 newspapers contribute for a total of over 300,000 listedjobs.https://www.jobnet.com. Specifically for the greater Philadelphiaregion, it has been online since 1992.Other suggestions:https://www.occ.com (Online Career Center)https://www.cweb.com (Career web)https://www.careermosaic.comhttps://www.excite.com/careershttps://www.hotjobs.comhttps://www.monster.com — the famed Monster Boardhttps://www.ajb.dni.us — America’s Job Bank, throughthe U.S. Department of Labor.Guarneri says these tested sites are not only a sure thing,but they may save you from the hassle of being called by headhunters,recruiters, or temporary employment agencies after unwittingly postingon one of their pages.Fine, you’ve found your sites — now what are you going to post?Each site should tell you how they want the resume. Some may requireit as E-mail; others may require different sections of the resumeto be cut and pasted into an online form. (Do not send the resumeas an attachment, says Guarneri, because of the justified warinessthese days about computer viruses.)Although electronic resumes are not fundamentally different from traditionalones, Guarneri recommends that you create multiple resumes: have a”people-friendly” version with graphics and a little morecontent, and a computer version. There are two critical elements specificto creating an electronic resume.First is compatibility. “It is crucial to save it as an `ascii’text file — very likely, it will be largely unreadable otherwise.”To avoid other compatibility problems, use these safe formatting tips:The resume should be left margin aligned.Use sans serif fonts such as Arial, Courier, Helvetica.These come out cleaner and fax well (Times New Roman, specialty fonts,and special effects like underlining or boldfaces should be avoided).Type in a large font, 11 point at least.Hyphens, asterisks, capital letters are excellent forattracting the eye.To set sections off, get creative with the use of whitespace. But do not use centered headings. Depending on the browseror program used to open the file, it could end up anywhere.Besides compatibility and readability, the structure of electronicresumes makes them different, although the content is basically thesame as a paper resume. But because they are seen on a computer youmust keep in mind that the reader will view one screen at a time.And scrolling through computer screens is a more difficult way tofind a pertinent bit of information than flipping pages.What that boils down to is keeping content brief and to the point.Remember too, that the first screen the viewer will see is smallerthan an 8 1/2″ x 11” page. On that first critical screen, don’t wasteprecious lines with your address or phone number.At the top, type your name. Then type the position you are lookingfor — for example, “Entry-level PR.” Next, skip a line– use the white space — and write a summary. The summary maybe the most important part of your electronic resume.”This is where you have to get good — this is the teaser toget them and make them scroll down to the rest of the resume,”says Guarneri. “In this section write about your degree or whereit was from, what experience you have, what you can bring the employer.If you are an experienced professional, show in this section thatyou can be up and running with that company as soon as you are hired.”Also, check out the hottest trends in your industry. “Employersposting on the web are not dinosaurs!” Guarneri points out. Writethat you are computer literate if you are, and list specific programs– make sure these are the latest versions, and not obsolete programs.Pack the summary full of “keywords” that gracefully and semanticallyfit. Keywords are usually nouns particular to the industry that computersearch programs will look for. If you are not sure which keywordsto use, check out advertisements in the field. Keywords need to beused only once for them to register. It is a good idea to use a synonymafter that instead of repeating a word, because you never know exactlywhat a company’s search program is seeking.Only after the summary should you insert the full body of the resumethe way it would traditionally look. Sometimes you will want to includea brief cover letter, especially if you are sending your resume toa specific person in a company.”Provide a link to a webpage only if it is a visual portfolio;for example, if you’re a photographer, graphic designer, or writer,and your website showcases samples of your work. Ask yourself, isthere a purpose to this website? If an employer is interested enoughfrom that teaser page, you won’t need an additional page. In fact,some people who create so-called resume webpages often have personalinformation on them that is very inappropriate.”Guarneri mentions one caveat: “Privacy and confidentiality. Youhave to be very careful about what you put out there because all thatinformation is available to anyone. I wouldn’t put down my streetaddress. It’s not a good idea to only list an E-mail address, however;some employers will want to pick up the phone and call.”Use the Internet as one more job-searching tool — one ofseveral you should be using. “Networking is still the number onemethod. You still need to approach companies, write letters. But everythingyou do normally, you can do on the ‘net. A lot of people don’t thinkof the other ways.”With 14 years experience in career counseling, Guarneri works as acorporate trainer and adjunct faculty member at Mercer College. Herpath to career counseling was not straight: “Because of good grades,I studied something I was good at but the opposite of my interestsand personality,” she says of her biology degree from the Universityof Wisconsin. Later she stumbled into her current career and returnfor a master’s in counseling from Johns Hopkins.That experience of making a wrong career choice lends perspectiveto her work. “I am one of those people who did not have good guidance.I’ve been through it myself; I know what you’re going through!”– Vickie SchlegelTop Of PageRecruiting StrategyMontgomery Knoll-based Mirronex Technologies (609-683-3766)has based its latest recruiting strategy on an Internet gambit. Abanner on Yahoo touts the offer: E-commerce specialists who applyto Mirronex through https://www.hotjobs.com can get a sign-onbonus of a BMW 2.3 Roadster Z-3. The new hires get the use of theleased car for the time they stay with the company, and after aboutthree years they can keep it.Why hotjobs.com? “They target experienced IT professionals,the type of individuals we are looking to hire,” says StephenNeish, director of strategic business development at Mirronex.”And we have had a long relationship with Hotjobs, so we couldget a co-marketing arrangement up and running.”Top Of PageNew Web GuideIf you want to get serious about looking for a job –or posting a job — on the World Wide Web, a hard-copy directoryto job-hunting sites will help. Gerry Crispin and Mark Mehlerof the Kendall Park-based MMC Group, have published the fourth editionof “CareerXroads, the directory to the 500 best job, resume andcareer management sites on the World Wide Web” ($24.95, 410 pages),and the price includes updates E-mailed to you. To order call 732-821-6652or fax credit card information to 732-821-1343; E-mail: mmc@careerxroads.com.Through Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relationsthe authors offer two day-long Internet workshops for HR Professionalsat major cities including Iselin, Long Island, King of Prussia, andManhattan (at the New York Public Science, Industry, and BusinessLibrary). The workshops cost $595 or $1,090 for two; call 212-340-2871.”We are branching out,” says Mehler, “and we have nowdeveloped software that allows the job seeker or recruiter to instantlyselect the sites and specifics of their search and find jobs or resumeslive and in real time. We have already sold the system to Johnson& Johnson, Unisys, and First Union. We really believe that job seekerswill be using the Web more to find their next position.”Download Career infoFinder and Resume infoFinder for a 14-day freeuse period: https://www.infoGist.com/careerxroads.htm.Select from a preinstalled lists of top sites and enter your searchcriteria. “Results appear instantly,” says Mehler. “Youcan start viewing while the software continues to search. And resultsare rated for you starting with the closest matches.”Top Of PageE-Commerce:Kandu and VerioThe most common error for companies developing a websiteis to throw money at the website without being sure of what they wantand how they will use it. So says Will Clark, director of marketingand sales at Kandu Inc. “In the right situation it can be an incrediblemoney maker. E-commerce is just exploding. It’s here, and it’s herenow, but it is just another marketing tool.”At a Technology New Jersey seminar on Tuesday, February 2, at 8 a.m.at the Hyatt, Clark will discuss “Multimedia Interactivity, theNext Wave in E-Commerce.” He will be joined by Jack Foster,territorial manager of Verio, based on Independence Way. Foster willdiscuss “E-Commerce Web Hosting: Does It Matter Where I Go?,”Cost: $30. Call 609-419-4444.Based on Kuser Road in Hamilton Square, Kandu does software development,Web sites, and video games for kiosks, Internet sites, trade shows,corporate training, and public access media (609-587-7973; https://www.kandu.com.).Clark has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in fine arts from ArizonaState, and has 15 years experience in “the dimensional marketingindustry,” trade shows, museums, and exhibits. Disillusioned byhaving the plug pulled on two years of work (“the client put ahold on the project”) he obtained a retraining grant through the JobTraining Partnership Act, earned a computer graphics certificate,and joined Scott Terry, the founding president of Kandu, last year.The 10-year-old interactive multimedia company made its reputationin the museum world by doing programming for the Edwin Schlossberg(ESI) design firm in New York. For the Sony Wonder Museum in New YorkCity, at 56th Street and Madison, it designed more than 100 work stations.For the Chicago Symphony Orchestra it has just finished an innovativemusic education facility, the Echo Experience, in which visitors exploresuch topics as the nature of sound and teamwork in performance at15 work stations.”With a keyboard in the shape of a musical instrument, you interactwith the exhibits. Then you plug your instrument into the sound wall,and what you and the other participants have learned are combinedinto a symphony,” says Clark. “You actually make choices tomix sounds.”Your website certainly won’t be as fancy as a museum’s, but Clarkpromises “to take the essence of your company and make it intoan interactive experience.” The opportunity that most companiesoverlook, he says, is to offer something to the surfer who comes tothe site — and to change the offering frequently.”A designer will come to us with a concept or design and we programit so it is webcentric,” says Clark. For IBM, Kandu is doing atraining program that works both as a CD-ROM and on the Internet.”IBM is saying that all training in the next few years is movingto the Internet,” says Clark. “They know the bandwidth isnot there yet, but they are moving it in that direction.”His “high-end” example for the seminar will be the redesignof a website for Industri-Matematik (IM), a Swedish customer-drivensupply chain software and consulting firm, https://www.im.se.The site supplies research data, has investment information, and hasa client bulletin board service.Another high-end client is Nike, for whom Kandu programmeda kiosk used in its NikeTown stores, including the one in Manhattan.This kiosk electronically and digitally scans your foot to measureit and asks questions about your lifestyle. “It formulates theessence of what you are and what you should buy,” says Clark.All the features (except for the footscanning) are now on the website,at https://www.nike.com.His “low-end” example comes from a Trenton client, Home Rubber.”We have a couple of fun things that make it more than a staticbillboard, such as a truck running over a hose to show it doesn’tcollapse.”Kandu has partnered with Verio to provide programming solutions forVerio’s Internet clients, and Foster will tell about Verio’s services.An alumnus of Case Western Reserve with a master’s degree from Collegeof New Jersey, Foster taught English and worked in the insurance industrybefore moving into computers; he came to Verio in 1997.Verio, hedaquartered in Colorado, bought Global Enterprise Services,the regional Internet Service Provider founded by Sergio Heker,and it also bought about 40 other companies. Verio is, says Foster,the largest website hosting company in world by a factor of seven,and the largest domain name registration company; the prognosis isthat Verio will be profitable by June.When you compare apples to apples, most companies’ prices are similar,Foster says, so choose your ISP provider based on the size and purposeof your website: “A lot of people are looking for The Right Solutionand there is no such thing. It is contingent on your size and growthpattern.”– Barbara FoxTop Of PageDigital Content: D.C.B>Kenneth R. Kay, a leader in developing digitalcontent for such areas as electronic commerce, government services,health care, and education, will speak at Princeton University’s WoodrowWilson School on Tuesday, February 2, at 4:30 p.m. in Robertson Hall,Bowl 1. His topic: “The Evolving Role of the Lobbyist in ModernWashington D.C.” Kay founded Infotech Strategies and is the executivedirector of the CEO Forum on Education and Technology. He helps CEOsdefine their visions for various areas of information technology.Top Of PageTrade with MexicoSign up for a United States trade mission to MexicoCity and Guadalajara by Friday, January 29. Business owners pay $1,950(which does not include air travel, hotel, or meals) to go with AidaAlvarez, the head of the United States Small Business Administration,from March 8 to 12.Call Tanya Galery-Smith at 202-205-6720 or Richard S. Ginsburgat 202-205-7429.Top Of PageCapital ConferenceEven the experts have a difficult time keeping trackof all the ways to find financing. Should you go to a bank? Directlyto the Small Business Administration (SBA)? The New Jersey EconomicDevelopment Authority (EDA)? The venture capital community? Or shouldyou just max out your charge cards?Probably none of these is the right answer. Probably you should hirean expert. But to get an idea of the array of possibilities, the NewJersey Technology Council offers a Capital Conference at the New JerseyHospital Association on Friday, January 29, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.Scott Baxter, president and CEO of Icon CMT Corp., will givethe keynote. Cost: $140. To register call 609-452-1010.Mike Nelson will present what is offered by the institutionto which you are most likely to turn to first: a bank. Nelson is executivevice president of PNC Bank, which received the SBA’s Diamond Awardfor approving the most SBA loans last year. The East Brunswick-basedbank approved 157 loans for $10.9 million dollars to New Jersey smallbusiness owners in 1998. PNC Bank also approved the most loans towomen-owned businesses and veteran owned businesses. The bank approved33 loans for $1.4 million to women-owned businesses and 14 loans for$523,200 to veteran-owned businesses.Nelson will tell how to finance technology companies with the helpof Progress Bank’s Steven Hobman and Silicon Valley Bank’s AshLilani.John Martinson of the Edison Venture Fund discusses privateequity with Victor Boyajian of Sills Cummis et al, GerardDiFiore of Reed Smith Shaw & McClay, Perry Pappas of BuchananIngersoll, and Ned Prentice of BT Alex Brown.Exiting via a sale or merger is the topic for John Aiello ofGiordano Halleran & Ciesla, along with Brendan Gougher of PricewaterhouseCoopers,James Hunter of Janney Montgomery Scott, and David Tarverof Bowthorpe Inc. Buchanan Ingersoll’s David Sorin tells aboutIPOs with Brian Hughes of Arthur Andersen, Mark Kuperschmidof NationsBanc Montgomery Securities, David Proctor of JanneyMontgomery Scott, and Tom Werthan, CFO of Emcore.Steven Cohen of Morgan Lewis & Bockius plus Jeffrey Dunneof PricewaterhouseCoopers cover growth by acquisition. James Marinoof Dechert Price & Rhoads talks about joint ventures and strategicpartnering with executives from two pharmaceutical firms, RonaldPepin of Bristol-Myers Squibb and Lewis J. Shuster of Pharmacopeia.Learn about state tax credits on a panel moderated by Caren Franzini,executive director of New Jersey Economic Development Authority, withMichael Batelli of Arthur Andersen; Lee Evans of the NewJersey Division of Taxation; Pat Lang, CFO of Sensar; and DavidShipley of Dechert Price & Rhoads.Top Of PageBad & Ugly BankingControversial cases in banking law — some now beingheard by the New Jersey Supreme Court — could radically changepricing or mortgages or seriously affect those who perform notarypublic services. Michael Horn will discuss these cases in ahalf-day seminar on recent banking law development, “The Good,The Bad and The Ugly,” sponsored by the New Jersey Bankers Association(NJBA), set for Thursday, January 28, at 9 a.m., at the Summit BankTraining Center, 2 Center Drive, Jamesburg. It will address the issueof how 1998 bank regulatory, legislative and judicial developmentswill affect banks in 1999 and beyond. The half-day seminar costs $95;call 609-924-5550.Two Princeton-based attorneys, Robert M. Jaworski of Reid, Smith,Shaw & McClay in Forrestal Village and Dennis R. Casale of Jamieson,Moore, Peskin & Spicer on Alexander Road, join Horn, of Newark-basedMcCarter & English.Jaworski will talk about federal regulatory and legislative developmentas well as developments concerning credit unions and field of membership.Jaworski is a consumer compliance law attorney who advises banks andother lenders about how to comply with consumer credit and consumerlaws that are currently on the books.He also will discuss a new bill to restructure banking, securities,insurance, financial, and service industries, as well as differentissues that arise concerning electronic delivery of banking services,such as marketing services on the Internet.Casale, who is also general counsel to New Jersey Bankers Association,will talk about pending state legislation and how it affects banks,ranging from proposed laws to limit banks from engaging in the insurancebusiness, to laws that would omit the imposition of ATM fees.Casale will address what the courts have said about programs thatbanks have initiated to require thumbprints in connection with cashingchecks by non-customers as well as laws that would require banks toturn over account information to the state to track down parents whoowe child support.Horn is an alumnus of Princeton, Class of ’61, and Harvard Law; hewas the state banking commissioner from ’82 to ’84 and state treasurerfrom ’84 to ’86. He will discuss MetLife versus Berger, which involvedan attorney filing suit against a mortgage company for charging latefees on a commercial mortgage. The case is currently pending beforethe New Jersey Supreme Court and could radically change the way mortgagerates are determined. “The appellate division ruled that latecharges and default interest rates were invalid because they weredeemed to be penalties rather than liquidated damages, the legal termfor a damages agreed upon in advance,” says Horn.”Though this was a commercial real estate case, that doesn’t stopthe Supreme Court from putting in language about a consumer-type loan,”he says. His firm has filed a “friend of the court” briefwith the New Jersey Supreme Court, representing various financialinstitutions: “We believe it is in the best interest of the consumerto have the appellate decision overruled. Those who pay their mortgageson time pay one rate and those who don’t pay a higher rate. This isdifferential pricing. If the bank can’t charge you a late charge,all rates will go up.”In the case of Turner versus First Fidelity Bank, the appellate courtruled that banks could pass on attorney review fees to the mortgageapplicant. The New Jersey Supreme Court is hearing the case now, andHorn has filed a brief on this one also.The Buchholz bankruptcy case, decided in August of last year, hasimplications for anyone who has ever used the services of a notarypublic. In this case, a bank officer who was also a notary publicwho did not actually witness a bank customer signing a mortgage. Althoughthe customer admitted signing it, the mortgage in effect was wipedout in bankruptcy court.– Ernie JohnstonTop Of PageJob Shadow DayOn Tuesday, February 2, national Groundhog Job ShadowDay, middle school and high school students will “shadow”sscientists, doctors, architects, meteorologists, firemen, graphicdesigners, government employees, as they go through a normal day ofwork. The organizers include America’s Promise, the youth developmentorganization headed by General Colin Powell, the National School-to-WorkOpportunities Office, Junior Achievement, and the American Societyof Association Executives (U.S. 1, December 23).Princeton area companies that are hosting job shadows this year includeJanssen Pharmaceutical, Bovis Construction, The Hibbert Group, Bristol-MyersSquibb, and the Journal Register Company. To join the group call JuniorAchievement at 609-989-8989 or National School to Work Office at 410-810-7910.Students do both observation and hands-on work. To ensure that bothstudents and their workplace hosts benefit from this project, theorganizers have developed extensive guidelines for participating businesses.From “Greet your students as a business associate” to “Thankthe students for visiting you today.”To help employers understand and deal with students effectively, theorganizers offer tips on student behavior. Middle school students,for example, have a strong need for approval, are greatly influencedby peers, and can quickly become humiliated when singled out in socialsituations.High school students want to be valued, won’t listen to people whoare perceived as lecturing or “saving” them, and think itis “cool” to be passive. Many high school students will notdemonstrate their curiosity, even if it is functioning at a high level.Students will frequently surprise you, say the organizers, andmost often that surprise is a joyous occasion. If you genuinely regardlearning as a joint activity between you and your students, your experiencewill be memorable.– Teena ChandyTop Of PageDonate PleaseRide herd on arts sponsorships by purchasing a tablefor 10 at the annual gala for the American Repertory Ballet and PrincetonBallet School on Saturday, April 10, at 7 p.m. at Forrestal. CallDorothy Cummings at 609-588-5876 or Debbie Lescroartat 609-921-7160 by Sunday, January 31, for a sponsorship reservation.Corrections or additions?This page is published by PrincetonInfo.com— the web site for U.S. 1 Newspaper in Princeton, New Jersey.
